Volkmann On Leave While High School Investigates Obama Comments

Jacob
Volkmann (Pictured) has been placed on paid administrative
leave by his employer, White Bear Lake Area High School -- North
Campus, while the institution conducts an investigation regarding
the UFC lightweight’s postfight comments about President Barack
Obama.

Volkmann, 30, serves as an assistant coach to the Minnesota
school’s wrestling team and also coaches its youth wrestling club
for children from kindergarten to sixth grade. His standing as head
coach of the squad has not been affected.

“It’s very frustrating that they think that I’m being a bad
influence on the students.” Volkmann told Sherdog.com. “That’s what
their reason was [for placing me on leave].”

Following his split decision victory over Antonio
McKee at UFC
125 on Jan. 1, Volkmann joked in a postfight interview with
MMAFighting.com that he would like to fight President Obama next,
because “someone needs to knock some sense into that idiot.”

Though the video garnered Volkmann a visit from the Secret Service,
the Minnesotan has stood by his comments, stating on the Sherdog
Radio Network that his criticism was based on his experience as a
healthcare provider. A chiropractor by trade, Volkmann is not a fan
of Obama’s health care bill.

“I deal with a lot of insurance, and the bill gave insurance
companies quite a bit of power,” Volkmann said. “But it forced them
to also give insurance to everybody, which I’m not against that at
all. I’m just against the power that they got to deny claims and to
deny coverage to health care providers. So that’s why I was
speaking. I was speaking through the provider’s standpoint, not the
insured’s standpoint.”

News of Volkmann’s issues with the high school was brought to light
Wednesday morning when Volkmann’s Minnesota Martial Arts Academy
training partner, Nik Lentz,
wrote on Twitter that Volkmann had been “fired from teaching youth
wrestling because of calling out Obama on healthcare.”

While Volkmann has not been fired, his future with the school is
currently in limbo. It is unknown how long the investigation will
last or what repercussions may result, if any.

When asked if he felt the fallout was being blown out of proportion
from his tongue-in-cheek comments about knocking sense into the
president, Volkmann asserted that the end was likely not in
sight.